Ukraine dam collapse: Kherson residents evacuated, face lack of drinking water

A senior Ukrainian official said on Wednesday that authorities were in the process of transporting drinking water via railways and cars to Kherson as he inspected flooded areas, following the collapse of Kakhovka dam in southern Ukraine.

Residents in the city of Kherson were also evacuated by boat and makeshift rafts through flooded streets as a result of the dam breach.

Visiting the city of Kherson on the Dnipro river, Deputy Prime Minister and Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said over 80 settlements had been affected by a disaster which Ukraine and Russia blame on each other.

Although it denies blowing up the dam, Moscow has engaged in a campaign of air strikes against Ukraine’s energy system, in which Kyiv says infrastructure of other dams has been damaged.

Blaming the dam's collapse on Russia, Kubrakov said: "They did this on purpose... to stop our offensive in this very area at this very moment... Tens of thousands of their soldiers that were holding the frontline along the (river) bank here can be relocated to other frontline sections." Russia said Ukraine sabotaged the dam to distract attention from a new counteroffensive it said was "faltering."

For more info, please go to https://globalnews.ca/news/9751553/ukraine-dam-collapse-kherson-update/

Subscribe to Global News Channel HERE: http://bit.ly/20fcXDc
Like Global News on Facebook HERE: http://bit.ly/255GMJQ
Follow Global News on Twitter HERE: http://bit.ly/1Toz8mt
Follow Global News on Instagram HERE: https://bit.ly/2QZaZIB
#GlobalNews #Ukraine #Kherson